EU Excludes Wine From Automatic Safeguards in New Mercosur Trade Rules

The European Union has published new regulations outlining safeguard measures related to the trade agreement with Mercosur, the South American trade bloc. The regulation, released in the Official Journal of the European Union, details specific procedures for certain “sensitive” agricultural products to prevent serious harm to EU producers. The list of sensitive products includes various types of meat, cheese, powdered milk, corn, rice, eggs, honey, garlic, and biodiesel. These products will be subject to automatic and ongoing monitoring by EU authorities.

However, wine and alcoholic beverages are not included in this list of sensitive products. This means that wine, wine-based drinks, and distilled spirits will not receive the same level of protection as other agricultural goods under the new rules. The EU will not automatically monitor imports of these products from Mercosur countries. Instead, the responsibility for market surveillance and requesting formal intervention falls on European wine associations and wineries themselves.

If producers in the wine sector believe that imports from Mercosur are causing significant harm—such as falling prices, declining sales, or reduced profits—they must provide data covering at least three years to support their claim. Only if they can demonstrate serious damage will the European Commission consider action. In such cases, the EU could freeze planned tariff reductions or restore tariffs to previous levels for a maximum period of four years.

The regulation also describes how to request an investigation, how investigations will be conducted and monitored, and how safeguard measures may be reviewed or extended. For now, the wine sector remains outside the scope of automatic safeguards provided to other agricultural industries under this agreement. The new rules place the burden on industry groups and individual producers to monitor market developments and seek help if needed. The regulation takes effect as part of the broader implementation process for the EU-Mercosur trade agreement.